“It is uncompromisingly, sincerely, itself. It is not a lesson or a lecture, it is funny but in a consistent way that it earns, and it is unforgettably acted.”

—Roger Ebert, The Chicago Sun-Times

BAMcinématek launches its new annual partnership with The
Paris Review at this year’s Brooklyn Book Fair with a rare
screening of Bruce Robinson’s semi-autobiographical directorial
debut Withnail andI. The film follows the
alcohol-fueled, darkly comic misadventures of a pair of unemployed
actors, from their squalid flat in London to flamboyant uncle
Monty's country estate, where they end up “on holiday by mistake.”
Moving from hysterical, rapid-fire rants to poignant moments,
Withnail is a gem of British comedy full of wit, angst,
and surprising moments of tenderness.

The screening will be followed by a discussion with frequent
Paris Review illustrator Leanne Shapton, editor Lorin
Stein, and deputy editor Sadie Stein, who regard the cult classic
as a perfect distillation of the magazine’s sensibility.